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701 records in US in 2009
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Supports the goals and ideals of National Community College Month. Congratulates the Nation's community colleges, and their students, governing boards, faculty, and staff, for their contributions to education and workforce development, and for their vital role in ensuring a brighter, stronger future for the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Recognizes that prostate cancer has created a health crisis for African American men. Urges federal agencies to designate additional funds for research and education, awareness, and early detection efforts at the grassroots levels to end such crisis.
United States · United States Senate · 20 April 2009
United States · United States Senate · 20 April 2009
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2009
Children's Hospitals Education Equity Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise the definition of "children's hospital" for purposes of payments associated with operating approved graduate medical residency training programs to include a freestanding psychiatric hospital: (1) with 90% or more inpatients under the age of 18; (2) that has its own Medicare provider number as of December 6, 1999; and (3) that has an accredited residency program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
School Day Factor Act of 2009 - Modifies the calculation of basic, concentration, targeted, and education finance incentive grants under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to reward states that increase the minimum number of days in their school year and minimum number of instructional hours in their school day. Makes such modification by factoring into such calculation the extent to which a state's minimum: (1) school year exceeds or falls below a base level school year which is set at 180 days for the 2009-2010 school year and rises five school days for each succeeding school year until it reaches 200 days for the 2013-2014 school year; and (2) instructional hours per school day exceed or fall below five and one-half hours. Removes any advantage gained by states that extend their school year, but reduce their minimum instructional hours per school day.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), to establish within USGS a National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System program to monitor volcanic activity and to warn and protect U.S. citizens from harm. Sets forth as System purposes to organize, modernize, standardize, and stabilize monitoring systems of U.S. volcano observatories and to unify monitoring systems into a single interoperative system. Sets forth as System objectives to monitor all U.S. volcanoes at a level commensurate with the threat they pose by upgrading existing networks on monitored volcanoes and installing new networks on unmonitored volcanoes. Requires the System to include: (1) a national volcano watch office that is operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week; (2) a national volcano data center; and (3) an external grants program to support research in volcano monitoring science and technology. Directs the Secretary to: (1) submit to Congress a five-year management plan for establishing and operating the System and an annual report; (2) establish an advisory committee; and (3) coordinate activities under this Act with the heads of relevant federal agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with universities and state agencies as volcano observatory partners.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Department of Veterans Affairs Vision Scholars Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish and carry out a scholarship program of financial assistance for individuals who: (1) are accepted for, or currently enrolled in, a program of study leading to a degree or certificate in visual impairment or orientation and mobility, or both; and (2) enter into an agreement to serve, after program completion, as a full-time Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee for three years within the first six years after program completion. Sets maximum assistance amounts of $15,000 per academic year and $45,000 total. Requires prorated repayment for failure to satisfy education or service requirements, while allowing the Secretary to waive or suspend such repayment whenever noncompliance is due to circumstances beyond the control of the participant, or when waiver or suspension is in the best interests of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Autism Treatment Acceleration Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to implement an Autism Care Center Program to provide grants and other assistance to improve the effectiveness and efficiency in providing comprehensive care to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and their families. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide grants for services to enable adults with autism spectrum disorders to be as independent as possible; (2) establish the National Registry for Autism Spectrum Disorders; and (3) award grants for multimedia campaigns to increase public education and awareness and reduce stigma concerning such disorders. Establishes the Interdepartmental Autism Coordinating Committee to coordinate all federal efforts concerning autism spectrum disorders. Repeals provisions establishing the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee to coordinate all efforts within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concerning autism spectrum disorders. Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) the National Network for Autism Spectrum Disorders Research and Services to provide resources for, and facilitate communication between, autism spectrum disorder researchers and service providers; and (2) a National Data Repository for Autism Spectrum Disorders Research and Services to facilitate the development and rapid dissemination of research into best practices that improve care. Requires the Secretary to award national training initiative supplemental grants to address the unmet needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorders and their families. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to require group health plans to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. Applies such requirement to coverage offered in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Graduate Psychology Education Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to accredited doctoral, internship, and residency programs in psychology for the development and implementation of programs to provide interdisciplinary training in integrated health care settings to students in doctoral psychology programs. Requires such training to focus on the needs of underserved populations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Teaching and Research Assistant Collective Bargaining Rights Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to provide collective bargaining rights for students enrolled at a private institution of higher education who perform work for remuneration at the institution's direction, regardless of whether the work relates to their courses of study (teaching and research assistants).
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Assistance for Workforce Recovery Program Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1988 to require the Secretary of Labor to establish the Unemployment Tuition Assistance Program making tuition assistance available to individuals who became or become unemployed on or after December 1, 2007, due to the recession for their pursuit of education and job training at participating community colleges. Directs the Secretary to provide tuition assistance payments directly to participating community colleges. Permits the Secretary to provide additional assistance to community colleges in high need and underserved areas. Requires state unemployment compensation program applicants to be informed of their possible eligibility for participation in the Unemployment Tuition Assistance Program. Directs the Secretary to maintain a public Internet website containing Program information, including a list of participating community colleges. Terminates the Program at the close of 2011.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Healthy Workforce Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a 50% tax credit for the costs of providing employees with a qualified wellness program. Defines "qualified wellness program" as a program that is certified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and that consists of a health awareness and education component, a behavioral change component, and a supportive environment component. Terminates such credit after 2017. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to institute an outreach program to inform businesses about the availability of such wellness program tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Amends title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to rename part D (Achievement through Technology and Innovation) and reauthorize it through FY2015. Alters the current program to require states to use a portion of their allotted funds to develop challenging academic content and achievement standards to ensure that students are technologically literate before the end of grade eight. Specifies that such standards are only for tracking technological literacy and not for assessing adequate yearly progress (AYP) under title I. Permits technological literacy testing to be embedded in other state tests or performance-based assessments portfolios, or made through other valid and reliable means. Requires states to use the bulk of their part D allotment for two new subgrant programs for local educational agencies (LEAs), devoting: (1) 60% for formula subgrants to improve teaching and learning through technology; and (2) 40% for competitive subgrants for systemic school redesign through technology integration. Requires LEAs to: (1) include a new or updated local long-range strategic educational technology plan in their applications; (2) use a specified percentage of each subgrant for teacher training; and (3) use each subgrant to acquire and apply technology to identify individual student learning needs and support individualized learning. Allows LEAs that receive funds for both programs to use all the funds for systemic school redesign through technology integration program activities. Directs the Secretary of Education to: (1) conduct an annual national study and report on the extent to which student technology literacy is attained by grade eight; (2) annually publish the results of state technology literacy assessments; and (3) implement, and update every five years, a National Education Technology Plan. Requires the Secretary to award a competitive grant to an education technology research entity, or a partnership comprising such an entity and one or more educational, nonprofit, or research entities, to establish a National Center for Achievement Through Technology that will identify and disseminate promising practices and exemplary programs that effectively use educational technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Improving Access to Mainstream Financial Institutions Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to award grants, including multi-year grants, to specified eligible entities to establish an account in a federally insured depository institution for low- and moderate-income individuals who currently do not have such an account. Includes among such eligible entities: (1) Alaska Native Corporations; (2) Native Hawaiian organizations; and (3) labor organizations. Authorizes the Secretary to award demonstration project grants to eligible entities to provide low-cost, small loans to consumers that will provide alternatives to more costly, predatory payday loans. Requires such entities to be: (1) tax-exempt charitable organizations; (2) federally insured depository institutions; (3) community development financial institutions; or (4) partnerships comprised of one or more of such entities. Requires grant recipients to offer financial literacy and education opportunities to each consumer provided with a loan pursuant to this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Ocean and Coastal Adaptation Planning Act - Directs the Administrators of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to jointly establish four Institutes for Ocean and Coastal Adaptation to Climate Change and Ocean Acidification to: (1) assess, prepare for, and adapt to the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on ocean and coastal areas and resources, including the Great Lakes; and (2) create centers of excellence to document and predict coastal and ocean effects of climate change and ocean acidification and to serve as principal national and international resources for technical expertise on adaptation strategies. Requires the Administrators to jointly select and award a grant to one institution of higher education to serve as such an Institute in each of four regions: (1) the Great Lakes Region; (2) the Northeast Region; (3) the Southeast and Gulf Coast Region; and (4) the Western and Pacific Region.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Health Access and Health Professions Supply Act of 2009 or HAHPSA 2009 — Establishes the Permanent National Health Workforce Commission. Requires the Commission to: (1) review federal policies related to the health professional workforce; (2) identify programs to reduce health professional isolation and build community health professional training infrastructure in rural, frontier, and urban underserved areas; and (3) develop guiding principles and accountability standards for the education of health professionals. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to makes matching grants to states for the operation of State Health Workforce Centers to improve the training, deployment, and retention of critical health professionals in underserved areas and for underserved populations. Revises provisions related to payments for direct graduate medical education costs and for the indirect costs of medical education, including to: (1) support the implementation of community-based training and innovative training models; and (2) require the Secretary to revise policies that constrain the Secretary's ability to respond to emergency situations and situations involving institutional and program closure. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary to use excess amounts appropriated to address shortages of health professionals in rural, frontier, and urban underserved areas. Provides for the expansion of existing loan repayment programs to emphasize the provision of health professions services to facilities that have health professional shortages. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program for Medical, Dental, Physician Assistant, Pharmacy, Behavioral and Mental Health, Public Health, and Nursing Students in the United States Public Health Sciences Track in Affiliated Schools; and (2) award grants to increase health professions training in high-needs specialties.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Improvement of the National Program of Cancer Registries Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise requirements for statewide cancer registries and require the inclusion in such registries of information on: (1) the highest level of education attained by adults with cancer; (2) sources of payment by individuals for the costs of cancer diagnosis and treatment; and (3) the history of alcohol and tobacco use by individuals with cancer. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) develop standards for collection of data elements for state cancer registries; (2) develop inter-operability and security standards for data exchange and integration between state cancer registries and any cancer registry and another federal registry for non-cancer diseases; and (3) provide a basic electronic collection tool to facilitate standardized data collection. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to facilitate coordination of the National Program of Cancer Registries with other federally-supported registry programs, including infectious disease registries, environmental disease registries, and other non-cancer, chronic disease registries.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Agriculture Education Freedom Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an individual any gain from the sale of any animal raised and sold by such individual as part of his or her participation in the 4-H program under the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture, the Future Farmers of America, any tax-exempt similar organization, or any program of a tax-exempt educational organization.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Make College Affordable Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers, their spouses, dependents, and grandchildren a tax deduction from gross income for certain higher education expenses and for interest on certain student loans. Includes as higher education expenses undergraduate tuition and fees and reasonable living expenses while attending an institution of higher education.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2009 or the PEACE Act of 2009 - Authorizes the President to provide assistance for Pakistan to enhance: (1) democratic institutions in order to strengthen civilian rule and long-term stability; (2) the judicial system and law enforcement; (3) economic development; (4) national, provincial, and local governmental and nongovernmental institutions; (5) public education; (6) human rights, including establishment of an independent National Human Rights Commission; (7) health care; and (8) cultural and educational programs. Expresses the sense of Congress in favor of efforts to assist refugees and displaced persons in Pakistan. States that to the extent that Pakistan continues to evolve toward civilian control of the government and to implement economic reform programs, the President should mobilize multilateral support for Pakistan. Establishes in the Treasury the Pakistan Democracy and Prosperity Fund. Obligates funding for Pakistan for: (1) international military education and training; and (2) the foreign military financing program. Restricts the use of funding for the purchase of, or upgrade to, F-16 fighter aircraft and munitions. Authorizes the President, subject to congressional notification, to direct the drawdown of Department of Defense (DOD) articles, services, and military education and training and make such articles, services, and education and training available to Pakistan. Authorizes the Secretary of State to establish the Pakistan military transition program to foster the principle of civilian rule through exchanges between military and civilian personnel of Pakistan and similar personnel from countries in transition to democracy and from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries. Prohibits military assistance from being provided to Pakistan if: (1) the President fails to determine that Pakistan is taking actions to dismantle nuclear weapons-material supply networks and to combat terrorist groups; or (2) a joint resolution disapproving any such determination is enacted into law. Excludes from such prohibition assistance to counter terrorism along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Requires that authorizations of appropriations for counterterrorism assistance to Pakistan be made available only with the concurrence of the Secretary of State. Directs the President to: (1) develop a regional security strategy to work with the government of Pakistan and other relevant governments and organizations to implement counterinsurgency and counterterrorism efforts in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas; and (2) implement a system to evaluate the effectiveness of democratic, economic, and social development assistance provided to Pakistan under this Act. Requires that any direct U.S. assistance made on or after January 1, 2010, to the government of Pakistan be provided to, or received from, civilian authorities of a freely elected government of Pakistan. Terminates the authority of this Act after September 30, 2013.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Assuring and Improving Cancer Treatment Education and Cancer Symptom Management Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, to provide for Medicare coverage of comprehensive cancer patient treatment education services. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand, intensify, and coordinate programs for the conduct and support of research with respect to: (1) improving the treatment and management of symptoms and side effects associated with cancer and cancer treatment; and (2) evaluating the role of nursing interventions in the amelioration of such symptoms and side effects. Requires the NIH Director to make nursing intervention research grants for studying cancer symptom management care and services delivered by registered nurses. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter into an arrangement under which the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences shall evaluate and report to the Secretary and Congress on the current state of symptom management, patient treatment education, and supportive care given to people with cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Home Healthcare Nurse Promotion Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) define "visiting nurse association" for purposes of the Act; (2) authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to visiting nurse associations to provide training in home health care to nurses who are hired to provide such care and have no recent nursing work experience in home health care; (3) direct the Secretary to establish a pilot program to make grants to accredited schools of nursing to develop and implement curricula on home health care and report to Congress on such pilot program; and (4) extend the nursing workforce development loan repayment and scholarship program to nurses who work for a visiting nurse association.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Health Workforce Investment Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Health Workforce Advisory Council to make recommendations to relevant agencies and congressional committees on health workforce issues, including on: (1) the supply and distribution of the U.S. health workforce; (2) current and future shortages or excesses of health workforce professionals; (3) issues relating to foreign medical and nursing school graduates; (4) deficiencies in existing databases concerning the supply and distribution of, and career, technical, and postsecondary education training programs for, health workforce professionals; (5) factors impacting practitioners' selection of specialty areas, including malpractice insurance costs; and (6) incentives to encourage primary care practice in underserved areas. Requires the Council to encourage entities providing graduate medical education to conduct activities to voluntarily address health workforce issues. Establishes the National Center for Health Workforce Information and Analysis to conduct and support statistical and epidemiological activities for the purpose of assessing and improving the supply, distribution, diversity, and development of the health workforce in the United States. Provides for protection of individually identifiable personal data. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to states for: (1) ensuring access to health services for all individuals, particularly those with low incomes or limited access to health services, through an adequate health workforce; (2) improving the supply, distribution, diversity, and development of the health workforce; (3) creating state-specific health workforce goals and objectives consistent with health status goals and national health workforce objectives; and (4) establishing a state health workforce planning entity to establish statewide processes for state health workforce planning. Authorizes the Secretary to provide for research to identify best practices and innovative approaches to improving the health workforce. Requires the Secretary to develop national health workforce objectives.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Global Warming Education Act - Requires the National Science Foundation to establish a Global Warming Education Program to: (1) broaden the understanding of human induced global warming, possible long and short-term consequences, and potential solutions; (2) apply the latest scientific and technological discoveries to provide learning opportunities to people; and (3) emphasize actionable information to help people understand and to promote implementation of new technologies, programs, and incentives related to energy conservation, renewable energy, and greenhouse gas reduction. Requires such Program to include: (1) a national information campaign to disseminate information on and promote implementation of the new technologies, programs, and incentives; and (2) a competitive grant program to provide grants to states, municipalities, educational institutions, and other organizations to create materials relevant to global warming and climate science, develop climate science K-12 curriculum and supplementary educational materials, or publish global warming and climate science information.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Helping Families Afford Tuition Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credits with an income-based tax credit for 50% of qualified tuition and related expenses, up to $10,000, for attendance at an institution of higher education. Repeals the tax deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Family Education Freedom Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit of up to $5,000 (adjusted for inflation after 2009) per student per year for the cost of attendance at any educational institution (including any private, parochial, religious, or home school) organized to provide elementary or secondary education, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Hope Plus Scholarship Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include qualified elementary and secondary education expenses and contributions and gifts to schools within the definition of the term "qualified tuition and related expenses" for purposes of the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Healthy Workforce Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a 50% tax credit for the costs of providing employees with a qualified wellness program. Defines "qualified wellness program" as a program that is certified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and that consists of a health awareness and education component, a behavioral change component, and a supportive environment component. Terminates such credit after 2017. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to institute an outreach program to inform businesses about the availability of such wellness program tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Global Autism Assistance Act of 2009 - Directs the Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish and administer a health and education grant program (Global Autism Assistance Program) to: (1) support activities by nongovernmental organizations and other service providers, including advocacy groups, focused on autism in developing countries; and (2) establish a "teach the teachers" program to train health and education professionals working with autistic children in developing countries.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Professional Educators Tax Relief Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employees of prekindergarten, elementary, and secondary schools a tax credit of up to $3,000 (adjusted annually for inflation after 2009). Requires such employees to hold positions involving: (1) regular contact with students; and (2) the formulation or implementation of the educational program for the school.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Education Improvement Tax Cut Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a tax credit up to $5,000 per year (adjusted annually for inflation after 2009) for contributions to a school tuition organization which distributes at least 90 percent of its annual gross income for elementary and secondary school scholarships; and (2) a tax credit up to $5,000 per year (adjusted annually for inflation after 2009) for contributions to a school materials organization which distributes at least 90 percent of its annual gross income to elementary and secondary schools for materials and equipment for instruction and for extracurricular activities.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Child Health Care Crisis Relief Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to establish programs related to mental health services for children and adolescents, to include: (1) entering into contracts with qualified individuals to pay educational loans in exchange for providing mental health services to children and adolescents; (2) awarding scholarships to students who agree to work as child and adolescent mental health service professionals after graduation or completion of residency or fellowship; (3) awarding competitive grants to higher education institutions to establish or expand internship or other field placement programs for students receiving specialized training or clinical experience in child and adolescent mental health; (4) awarding grants to state-licensed mental heath organizations to pay for programs for preservice or in-service training of paraprofessional child and adolescent mental health workers; and (5) awarding grants to higher education institutions to establish or expand graduate child and adolescent mental health programs. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to adjust the graduate medical education program to: (1) exclude a reasonable number of residents or fellows in child and adolescent psychiatry when calculating the maximum number of residents in the field of allopathic or osteopathic medicine for which the hospital may be paid; and (2) extend the period of board eligibility for residents and fellows in child and adolescent psychiatry. Directs the Administrator to study and report to Congress on the distribution of, and need for, child mental health service professionals and on a comparison of such distribution and need on a state-by-state basis.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Supports designation of a Free Enterprise Education Week to encourage elementary and secondary schools, institutions of higher education, and businesses in this country to educate students about the free enterprise system.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Supports the goals and ideas of National Early Educator Worthy Wage Day. Urges public officials and the general public to honor early childhood care and education staff and programs in their communities, and to work together to resolve the early childhood education staff compensation crisis.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Cybersecurity Act of 2009 - Directs the President to establish or designate a Cybersecurity Advisory Panel to advise the President. Defines "cyber" as: (1) any process, program, or protocol relating to the use of the Internet or an intranet, automatic data processing or transmission, or telecommunication via the Internet or an intranet; and (2) any matter relating to, or involving the use of, computers or computer networks. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) develop and implement a system to provide cybersecurity status and vulnerability information regarding all federal information systems and networks managed by the Department of Commerce; and (2) provide financial assistance for the creation and support of Regional Cybersecurity Centers for small and medium sized U.S. businesses. Requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish cybersecurity standards for all federal government, government contractor, or grantee critical infrastructure information systems and networks. Makes NIST responsible for U.S. representation in all international cybersecurity standards development. Directs the Secretary to develop or coordinate a national licensing, certification, and recertification program for cybersecurity professionals and makes it unlawful to provide certain cybersecurity services without being licensed and certified. Requires Advisory Panel approval for renewal or modification of a contract related to the operation of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. Requires development of a strategy to implement a secure domain name addressing system. Requires the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support specified types of research and to establish a program of grants to higher education institutions to establish cybersecurity testbeds. Amends the Cybersecurity Research and Development Act to expand the purposes of an existing program of computer and network security research grants. Requires the NSF to establish a Federal Cyber Scholarship-for-Service program. Requires NIST to establish cybersecurity competitions and challenges to recruit talented individuals for the federal information technology workforce and stimulate innovation. Requires the Department of Commerce to serve as the clearinghouse of cybersecurity threat and vulnerability information. Grants the Secretary access to all relevant data concerning such networks notwithstanding any law or policy restricting access. Directs the President to: (1) develop and implement a comprehensive national cybersecurity strategy; (2) on a quadrennial basis, complete a review of the cyber posture of the United States; and (3) work with representatives of foreign governments to develop norms, organizations, and other cooperative activities for international engagement to improve cybersecurity. Requires the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress an annual report on cybersecurity threats to and vulnerabilities of critical national information, communication, and data network infrastructure. Establishes a Secure Products and Services Acquisitions Board to review and approve high value products and services acquisition and establish validation standards for software to be acquired by the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
National Energy Security Act of 2009 or the NESA of 2009 - Amends the Federal Power Act to revise requirements concerning the siting of interstate electric transmission facilities, including requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to oversee planning for the development of a Clean Energy Superhighway. Sets forth provisions concerning plug-in electric drive vehicles, including requiring: (1) a specified percentage of vehicles acquired for the federal fleet to be such vehicles; and (2) the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to provide grants and loans to local governments for the installation of recharging facilities for such vehicles. Amends the Energy and Independence and Security Act of 2007 to require the DOE Secretary to guarantee loans for the aggregate purchase of at least 5,000 batteries that use advanced battery technology within a year. Requires the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to investigate whether oil savings goals can be achieved in the trucking industry without adverse safety consequences by determining the safety impacts and other effects of increasing the maximum allowable gross weight for vehicles using the Interstate System to allow for larger, more fuel-efficient tractor-trailers. Requires each automobile manufacturer to ensure that a specified percentage of the automobiles it manufactures are flexible fuel automobiles. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise credits concerning renewable energy, alternative fuels, and electric and hybrid vehicles. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to expand the list of innovative technology projects that are eligible for loan guarantees to include low-carbon technology projects. Authorizes appropriations for advanced biofuels research, development, and demonstration that will create fuels that are fungible in existing infrastructure. Sets forth provisions concerning the production of offshore oil or gas resources, including authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to make potential producing areas in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) available for oil and gas leasing. Amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to revise a moratorium on oil and gas leasing by changing the areas in the Gulf of Mexico affected by the prohibition on leasing. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to: (1) require the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to review whether areas of the OCS should be restricted from exploration and operation and to offer for lease those areas that shouldn't remain under restriction; and (2) establish the Renewable Energy Reserve Account, which shall receive amounts from bonus bids, royalties, or rentals from any qualified lease on submerged land and which shall be used for the cost of carrying out this Act. Authorizes U.S. persons to: (1) engage in transactions necessary for the exploration for and extraction of hydrocarbon resources from portions of foreign exclusive economic zones that are contiguous to the U.S. exclusive economic zone; and (2) export, without license authority, equipment necessary for such exploration and extraction. Amends the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 to require the Secretary of the Treasury to authorize under a general license specified travel-related transactions for travel to, from, or within Cuba in connection with such exploration and extraction. Provides for the establishment of a regional joint OCS lease and permit processing office for the Alaska OCS region. Amends the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act to raise the limitation on the amount of loans and other debt obligations guaranteed for such pipeline. Authorizes the DOE Secretary to: (1) award grants for the establishment of training and education programs for vocational workforce development through centers of excellence for a broad range of clean energy sector needs; (2) establish a national merit scholarship program for training and education for a clean energy workforce; and (3) study the impact of foreign fuel subsidies on global energy supplies, global energy demand, and the global economy.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success Act of 2009 or the SECTORS Act of 2009 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to require the Secretary of Labor to award competitive industry or sector partnership grants to eligible entities to develop strategies that: (1) encourage growth and competitiveness through work with employers within a targeted industry cluster; (2) help workers move toward economic self-sufficiency and ensure that they have access to supportive services; (3) address the needs of firms with limited human resources or in-house training capacity, including small- and medium-sized firms; and (4) coordinate with entities that carry out state and local workforce investment, education, and economic development activities. Requires federal agency coordination with the Secretary in carrying out such program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Independent Drug Education and Outreach Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to award grants or contracts for: (1) the development and production of educational materials concerning the evidence available on the relative safety, effectiveness, and cost of prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and nondrug interventions for treating selected conditions, to be distributed and presented to health care providers who prescribe such drugs and their patients; and (2) the development and implementation of a program to appropriately train and deploy health professionals to distribute such materials to, and otherwise educate, physicians and other drug prescribers concerning such drugs and interventions. Requires that grantees receive no support from any entity that manufactures products used to treat the medical conditions discussed.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success Act of 2009 or the SECTORS Act of 2009 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to require the Secretary of Labor to award competitive industry or sector partnership grants to eligible entities to develop strategies that: (1) encourage growth and competitiveness through work with employers within a targeted industry cluster; (2) help workers move toward economic self-sufficiency and ensure that they have access to supportive services; (3) address the needs of firms with limited human resources or in-house training capacity, including small- and medium-sized firms; and (4) coordinate with entities that carry out state and local workforce investment, economic development, and education activities. Requires federal agency coordination with the Secretary in carrying out such program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Small Business Development Centers Modernization Act of 2009 - Amends the Small Business Act relating to small business development centers (SBDCs) (centers established through the Small Business Administration [SBA] to provide advisory, operational, and technical assistance to small businesses) to: (1) require institutions of higher education that are provided SBDC grants to be accredited; (2) require SBDC employee hirings to be independent of input or approval from SBA officers or employees; (3) eliminate a matching funds requirement with respect to SBDC grant programs conducted in areas in which a disaster has occurred; and (4) limit grant distributions with respect to two or more SBDCs located in the same state. Directs the SBA to establish the following SBDC grant programs: (1) access to credit and capital; (2) procurement training and assistance; (3) green entrepreneurs training; and (4) main street stabilization. Prohibits funds recovered under an SBDC program through fees assessed to small business clients from being considered matching funds. Authorizes appropriations for the SBDC program for FY2010-FY2011.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of comprehensive cancer care planning services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct a two-year demonstration project for Medicare payment for comprehensive cancer care symptom management services furnished by an eligible entity in accordance with a described plan. Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities for establishing a new, or expanding an existing, palliative care and symptom management program for cancer patients. Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to improve the quality of graduate and postgraduate training of physicians, nurses, and other health care providers, as well as continuing professional education, in palliative care and symptom management for such patients. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a program of grants for research on palliative care, symptom management, communication skills, and other end-of-life topics for such patients.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Independent Drug Education and Outreach Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to award grants or contracts for: (1) the development and production of educational materials concerning the evidence available on the relative safety, effectiveness, and cost of prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and nondrug interventions for treating selected conditions, to be distributed and presented to health care providers who prescribe such drugs and their patients; and (2) the development and implementation of a program to appropriately train and deploy health professionals to distribute such materials to, and otherwise educate, physicians and other drug prescribers concerning such drugs and interventions. Requires that grantees receive no support from any entity that manufactures products used to treat the medical conditions discussed.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Children's Hope Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit of up to $100 ($200 for joint returns) for charitable contributions to an education investment organization that disburses 90% of its contributions to provide grants to students for elementary and secondary education expenses, if at least 50% of such disbursements go to students who qualify for free or reduced-cost school lunches. Requires a taxpayer claiming such credit, as a condition of eligibility to receive it, to first claim a state qualified scholarship tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Consumer Lending Education And Reform Act or the C.L.E.A.R. Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to limit the interest, fees and charges that a payday lender may require a consumer to pay with respect to an original payday loan and a refinanced payday loan. Prohibits a payday lender from: (1) requiring a consumer to pay an origination fee for a payday loan that is refinanced; or (2) making or refinancing a payday loan unless the creditor has first provided the consumer with a copy of a written loan agreement, signed by the creditor and by the consumer, which includes specified information in English and in the language in which the loan was negotiated. Requires a payday lender to file a surety bond. Prohibits a payday lender from making or refinancing a payday loan unless the terms of the loan require the creditor, upon receiving notice of consumer's inability to repay, to provide the consumer with notice of and the right to opt into an extended payment plan, without charge, one time in any 12-month period. Prohibits a creditor from engaging in any collection activity (or procuring the services of any other for such purpose) during the term of any extended payment plan.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Expresses support for the recognition of Energy Independence Month.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Supports the goals and ideals of the Day of Silence (during which students vow to remain silent to bring attention to the harassment and discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in schools). Encourages each state, city, and local education authority to adopt laws and policies to prohibit name-calling, bullying, harassment, and discrimination against students, teachers, and other school staff regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity or gender expression.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2009
Methadone Treatment and Protection Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) direct the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to states and nonprofit community organizations to distribute culturally sensitive educational materials about the dangers of opioid abuse, including methadone abuse; (2) establish a Controlled Substances Clinical Standards Commission to develop safe dosing standards for all forms of methadone, benchmark standards for the reduction of methadone abuse, appropriate conversion factors when transitioning patients from one opioid to another, guidelines for initiating pain management with methadone, and patient and practitioner education standards; (3) increase funding for the controlled substance monitoring program; and (4) require the completion of a Model Opioid Treatment Program Mortality Report and the establishment of a National Opioid Death Registry. Amends the Controlled Substances Act to: (1) set forth training requirements for health care practitioners registered to prescribe or dispense methadone or other opioids; and (2) require opioid treatment clinics to make acceptable arrangements for the distribution of methadone to patients restricted from taking home doses when the clinic is closed. Prohibits the writing of prescriptions or dispensing of a 40-mg diskette of methadone unless such prescription or dispensation is consistent with current Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) methadone policy.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2009
Affordable Tutoring of Our Children Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the tax exclusion for employer-provided dependent care assistance to allow employees an additional exclusion for payments of supplemental instructional services assistance to their dependents between the ages of 5 and 19 who have not obtained a high school diploma or who have been awarded a general education degree. Defines "supplemental instructional services assistance" to include instructional or other academic enrichment services that are: (1) in addition to instruction provided during the school day; (2) specifically designed to increase academic achievement; (3) in the core academic studies of English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, social studies, and geography; and (4) provided by a state certified instructor or accredited organization.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2009
Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a geography education grant program under title II (Teacher Quality Enhancement). Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to a national nonprofit educational organization or consortium, with 75% to be used for matching subgrants to institutions of higher education associated with state geographic alliances, nonprofit educational organizations, or state or local educational agencies. Requires program participants to use their grants and subgrants to enhance the geographic literacy of students in kindergarten through grade 12 by supporting specified activities, including: (1) educational research; (2) teacher training; (3) the development of effective teaching tools and learning materials; (4) the application of rigorous academic standards and assessment techniques; (5) comparative studies of world cultures, economies, and environments; and (6) the exchange of information regarding the state of geographic literacy and strategies for its improvement.